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Valdirsk
Introduction Description Valdirsk is a conlang with some Scandinavian and Celtic influences, but a mainly innovative vocabulary and grammar. Its principal particularities consist in the absence of autonomous verbs, replaced by nouns in the active form, the use of active or inactive consonants in fix noun/verb structures to discern one from another, and the OVS (Object-Verb-Subject) word order. Alphabet and Pronunciation All letters are pronounced. There are three types of letters: vowels, inactive consonants, active consonants (for explanation see category Noun). Here follows the prounciation according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA): In most cases, the tone lays on the first vowel or vowel group. Nouns As verbs do not exist, nouns in the active tense (verbal nouns) are to replace them in order to express action. It is so that active nouns reflect the action of which the same noun in the inactive form is the object. An inactive noun is distinguished from its active form by the consonant mutation of the first consonant of the word. Example: B'alla = a dance, '''v'alla = to dance (the act of dancing); 'R'okkur = a dusk, 'rh'okkur = (concerning sun, moon, stars or fig.) to set, go down, fade It seems clear that not all inactive nouns have an active form (ex: "mouth"). Affixes are used to make active nouns more accurate or to clarify the action when its object/inactive noun is ambiguous. Example: (*) The preposition i- means "in", the preposition út- means "out". Each noun has a fix structure as follows: '''Eventual preposition + Consonant(s) + Vowel(s) + eventual mark of the Genitive + rest of the word. The mark of the genitive is -i. Example: H + o + vor = Hovor '("speech", "vocal communication"), 'Þ + o + vor = Þovor ("to speak"), h + o + i + vor = hoivor ("of the speech"), Þ + o + i + vor = Þoivor ("of the act of speaking"). In certain cases where a noun has no active form, or using an adjective, an active form can though be used to express "the fact of being ..." (where "..." is the noun/adjective). Example: Storsk '= "great", 'Շtorsk '= "to be great", "the fact of being great"; '''Pikasso '= "Picasso", 'Fikasso '= "the fact of being Picasso" '''Inactive noun cases Nominative The usual case, with no specific mark. Stands at the end of a proposition if Subject, stands at the beginning of a proposition if Object/Direct object complement. Genitive Reflects that the noun possesses the adjoining object. Replaces " of " or " 's ". 'Common nouns' Material entities There are 3 genders for material entities: male, female, and neutral. All words that indicate asexual things are per definition neutral. Here is a table representing the matching of nouns with their gender: These nouns are formed like this: Variable part + gender + r + plural Example: Gull + o + r + i = Gullori = horses (male), Gull + e + r = Guller = mare There is an exception: father (ot athoir) and mother (et matheir), where an -i is added before the -r. Immaterial entities Immaterial entities have no particular termination, except two categories: concepts and geographical references. Concepts (like "liberty", "peace" or "procrastination") end with -an, and change in the plural form only by adding an -n (-ann), which switches the pronunciation from /an/ to /aɤn/. Due to the double consonant, it should be insisted on the vowel before (-a), so that the the tone lays on the last -ann. Example: an magan = the power, na magann = the powers. Nouns that indicate Geographical origins (like "English" or "European") end with -sk. Example: Ingelsk = English They are formed by adding mark of gender and mark of plural at the end: Variable part + an/sk + gender + plural Example: Valdir + sk + o + i = Valdirskoi = the Valdirians, the men from Valdir Two words can agglutinate if they are related to eachother (like in english: "painkiller" = "pain" + "killer"): Trunk 1 + gender 1 + plural 1 + trunk 2 + gender 2 + r + plural 2 Example: Gull + a + i + skadd + a + r + i = Gullaiskaddari = shits of horses, horsesshit (skaddar = shit) Immaterial substantives related to verbs are formed by replacing the -i from its infinitive by an -r (except if the word is a concept, then it ends in -an as usually). Their meaning is always "the fact of" + verb. Example: magain (to reign) > at magarn (the reign) (the fact of reigning) The opposite of words are formed with a privative -u. Example: materialska = material, umaterialska = immaterial Examples Gullor = (Male) horse Ati gulleri = the mares at vakar = the book vridan = peace Valdirsk = Valdirian language Valdirskei = Valdirians (women) Skaddari = shits At gullaskaddar = the horseshit At magarn = the reign uvridanska = unpeaceful 'Adjectives' A caracteristical ending is -sk, but there are some various endings such as -kk, -ll, kh... The adjective is relative to his noun by gender and number, and respectively the mark of the gender and that of the number are added at the very end of the word. Example: Tir va threkkei = they are big (fem.), ir va thallo = I am tall (masc.) 'Comparative and superlative' Obtained by adding respectively -vd and -rd to the adjective instead of the eventual -sk. Example: simple = iúnvúldarsk, simpler = iúnvúldarvd, (the) simplest = (at) iúnvúldard Determiners and Pronouns The definite article is "an" for the singular, and "na" for the plural. The indefinite article consists in the absence of article. Example: an gullor = the horse, na gulleri = the mares; gullor = a horse, iún gullor = one horse The demonstrative is obtained by adding a d'' before the definite: Example: ot gullor = the horse, dot gullor = that horse The nominative pronouns are declined this way: The oblique pronouns are declined this way: The possessive (pronoun AND determiner) is declined this way: Of course, the example above stands for a masculine noun, but the possessive determiner also adapts to the gender (mot, met, mat...) The possessive pronoun/determiner also follows the rule from the disappearing -t at the end of the word, though it doesn't need to have an -i, the -t disappears no matter what. This also counts for all determiners: ot, mot, oti, moti, and so on. Example: mot is pronounced mo, moti is pronounced mo-i. Examples vot gullor = your horse noti vridan = our peace mat vakar = my book Ir horra moda = I see him Mir tir moda = They see me Adverbs Adverbs globally have various endings, except for those usually ending with -lly in English (as the two in this sentence): they are the same as the adjective related to it, but logically without gender nor number. So: Example: morvúldarska = complicated, hard, morvúldarsk =complicatedly, hardly; thallo = great, thall = greatly. Verbs Verbs are based on a common trunk, to which suffixes are added to indicate the type of tense. As example: '''To be ("vain")': Va + in = Vain Trunk + Mark of the infinitive = Infinitive Conjugations The trunk always ends with an -a or an -e. (*): If the tone lays on the vowel just before, the -d is doubled. So, "ir vaddú" but "ir falladù". Vocabulary Sample texts A small story Ther vadú iúna vúldar naggor, thallo sva sev viergari úd threkko sva drei. Allai dugari, hor thalledú mor úd mor, úd dat furredú at valkan allseid morvúldarvd erúd at valgar ad valkedú thad hor. Till dugar, kver ati naggari dat vailgar úalladú tharrein ot. Tir furredú at thallard tarnar ad vadú id'at vordar, úd khvelgendú an at threkkard úrmar od tharrein hor, úd dat úrmar idi dat seid vadú ikk novvetarska ad har khedú tharrein ati naggari. At úrmar kraggedú at thallo naggor, úd hor tharredú idi pala seid. Vúd seit dat dugar, allai úrmari khe tharrein ati naggeri.